A gap year is a privilege that we can no longer afford.

Lizzo—between scandals and videos wearing pieces from the line she helped create, Yitty—has announced that she’s taking a gap year to protect her peace and mental health. She shared the news directly from Bali, in a video where she gazes towards the horizon under torrential rain, surrounded by greenery, wearing only a black swimsuit. She’s not the first, famous or not, to decide to take a break. After finishing school and before starting the next phase of life, many young people opt for a gap year to clear their minds and take time to appreciate the present, dedicating it to travel, rest, or exploring professional opportunities. Even Rory Gilmore, the protagonist of our favorite autumn TV show, Gilmore Girls, took a semester off. And it was a good decision.

What to do during a gap year?

There are many reasons to take a break, whether for a moment or a year. Some pause to breathe, others to think or decide, to focus on a specific project, or to travel the world. Some aren’t sure what to do or are in crisis, while others want to delay the arrival of something too demanding, like adulthood. How to fill this time? The options are nearly endless. You can learn a language, get a passport and embark on an adventure, read as many books as possible to flip all the statistics, or simply change your life—even temporarily—to shift your perspective and understand yourself better. However you see fit, perhaps without a smartphone, and as long as it’s a realistic option.

Is taking a gap year a real possibility?

Let’s make a small distinction. If a student in crisis decides to become an au pair in Australia to think about what to study in college, that’s one thing. If a worker experiencing burnout wants to take a few months off between jobs, that’s another. According to doctors and psychologists, it takes time, a lot of time, to recover from both mental and physical exhaustion, and in more serious cases, even a therapeutic journey to learn how to manage fatigue and stay balanced. In both cases, however, it’s not easy. Society urges young people to hurry, to start building a career as soon as possible, to pile up professional experiences, and why not, even save some money. In our own way, how many times have we judged someone for taking too long to graduate? For not thinking about their resume? For choosing to go to Brazil instead of “settling down”? Or, how many times have we heard these kinds of comments without saying anything?

Slow living isn’t tolerated outside of Instagram

Despite the push for flexible work, for better work-life balance, and for stepping back from an ideal of productivity that’s hard to maintain, the truth is that slow living, breaks, and tranquility are only afforded to the rich, the privileged, in envy-inducing Instagram posts that seem like a distant, unattainable dream. In real life, the one made of work, rushing to be on time, anxieties about contract renewals or monthly paychecks that don’t arrive in time to cover rent and bills, endless emails, and a thousand responsibilities, this possibility is not realistic. And it’s okay to know this and to work on it, without being fooled by the narratives on social networks, but instead, fighting to change this reality.